RFP for Communications Consultant
Posted Date: September 1, 2023
Anticipated Period of Performance: September – December 31, 2023
Proposals Due: September 12, 2023
The Consultant will assist in strategic communications for the organization.
Posted Date: September 1, 2023
Anticipated Period of Performance: September – December 31, 2023
Proposals Due: September 12, 2023
The Consultant will assist in strategic communications for the organization.
In July 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) released updated guidelines for the management section of wasting and nutritional oedema, also known as acute malnutrition, in infants and children under 5. An update of the prevention section of the guidelines is expected this fall. The guidelines build on the 2013 guidelines by further enhancing care of infants and children with wasting and nutrition oedema as these conditions lead to higher mortality rates and other negative health outcomes. The guidelines were drafted and completed as one of the key commitments of WHO to the Global Action Plan for Child Wasting which was released in 2019 by the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General. The guidelines include four areas of focus:
Ongoing crises such as climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, conflict, and rising costs of food have exacerbated rates of malnutrition, particularly among those under 5 years of age. Currently, over 45.4 million infants and children under 5 years of age experience wasting each year. Governments and other stakeholders have struggled to make progress on Sustainable Development Goal 2 which is to reach “Zero Hunger” by 2030. The new guidelines include 19 total recommendations, 12 of which are new and 7 of which are updated, along with 10 good practice statements. Key recommendations and good practice statements for each focus area include:
Focus area: Management of infants less than 6 months of age at risk of poor growth and development
Focus area: Management of infants and children 6-59 months of age with wasting and/or nutrition oedema
Focus area: Post-exit interventions after recovery from wasting and/or nutritional oedema
Additional standing WHO recommendations and best practice statements on wasting and nutritional oedema were also carried over from previous guidelines, including classifying nutritional status according to WHO child growth standards, providing children with severe wasting and/or nutritional oedema the recommended daily nutrient intake of vitamin A throughout treatment period, promotion and support for exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months and continued breastfeeding until 24 months and beyond, and others.
In addition to these guidelines, WHO will be putting out operational guidance to accompany them. As policymakers, governments and governmental agencies, program implementers, non-governmental organizations and other civil society organizations, and healthcare workers aim to reduce and prevent wasting and nutrition oedema in infants and children, they should rely on these guidelines to develop and implement evidence-based policies, programs, best practices, and regulations.
1,000 Days was born in 2010 out of ground-breaking scientific evidence that found there was a brief but powerful window of opportunity from a woman’s pregnancy to a child’s 2nd birthday to enhance the development and long-term health of individuals and societies. The research showed that investing in proven, cost-effective nutrition interventions in that first 1,000 days can lead to lower child and maternal mortality and healthier moms and babies.
Our organization set out to raise awareness of these findings and focus on improving policies and increasing much-needed resources for nutrition in the 1,000-day window. Research continues to prove that early investments in nutrition provide the foundation for children to develop to their full potential, setting them up for later success in school and the workforce, and reducing a child’s predisposition to obesity and other illnesses later in life.
But here’s something we’ve noticed over the years: at times, the nutrition community has so ardently celebrated the amazing potential impact of investments in the first 1,000 days that discussions of a woman’s nutrition have tended to narrowly focus on the impact her nutrition has on her newborn child. A woman plays an incredibly important and indisputable role in the health and development of her child – but all too often, a woman’s own right to long-term health and nutrition is overlooked.
Nutrition as a step toward gender equality
Women and girls often struggle to access adequate nutrition due to their status in a society. In fact, they represent 60% of all undernourished people in the world and a recent analysis by UN Women found that two thirds of countries report higher rates of food insecurity for women compared to men. On top of that, women and adolescent girls have special nutritional needs tied to their reproductive health and menstruation. Today, it is estimated that more than one billion women and girls do not have access to the adequate nutrition and healthy diets they need to survive and thrive.
This inequity has deep consequences because investing in a woman’s nutrition not only helps her deliver a healthy baby, it is a basic right for women everywhere to lead healthy and productive lives and in turn, these investments support gender equality. We know that the right nutrition is part of the fight for gender equality because of the impact it has in three key areas—her health, her education and her ability to earn an income:
We must do more
Many of these returns from nutrition investments on health, education, and earning potential are not unique to women. Good nutrition is fundamental to every person’s ability to live a healthy, productive life. But it is time we acknowledge that gender equality itself is further advanced when women and girls get the nutrition they need, and that a woman’s all-too-often diminished role in society negatively impacts her ability to be well-nourished. We need programs and policies that support all the ways that nutrition helps women achieve what they want – whether it’s a healthy body, high marks in school, or a high-powered career. The focus on women’s nutritional needs has been predominantly oriented towards ensuring that she can provide the best health outcomes for her child, but ensuring women have access to proper nutrition can do even more – it can help her grow her power. We need to start focusing more attention on ensuring that women have access to the right nutrition at every stage of a woman’s life if we want to make a meaningful impact on gender equality.
Posted Date: January 25, 2023
Anticipated Period of Performance: February 15 – June 15 2023
Proposals Due: February 10, 2023
The Consultant will facilitate engagement with the Domestic Nutrition Community and coordinate with the 1,000 Days’ Policy & Advocacy Director.
Breastfeeding bills to look for in the 118th Congress
Success in breastfeeding is everyone’s responsibility. In anticipation of the 118th Congress (2023), we’ve pulled together a short list highlighting the breastfeeding-related bills we support, because we know increased breastfeeding support is multifaceted and multisectoral. It envelops a wide range of environments from birthing spaces to places of work and even the halls of Congress. We believe these bills will improve policies and increase investments to enable more people to reach their breastfeeding goals.
Federal Nutrition Programs
The Wise Investment in Children (WIC) Act
This bill would extend eligibility for postpartum women to receive benefits under the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to two years postpartum, extend the program certification window to two years to reduce attrition, and allow children to receive WIC benefits through their sixth birthday.
Access to Donor Milk
The Access to Donor Milk Act (ADMA)
This bill would help increase life-saving access to donor milk, particularly important in light of the 2022 formula recall and shortage, and as part of a robust infrastructure for infant nutrition security.
Access to Quality, Comprehensive Health Care
Improving Coverage and Care for Mothers Act
This bill would expand eligibility for Medicaid to all who are pregnant or within one year postpartum. It would also authorize Medicaid to extend coverage of services provided to include lactation consultants. As the bill highlights, a lactation consultant is a health professional trained to focus on the needs and concerns of a breastfeeding mother and baby, and to prevent, recognize and solve breastfeeding difficulties.
The Mothers and Offspring Mortality and Morbidity Awareness (MOMMA’s) Act
This bill would expand eligibility for Medicaid up to one year postpartum, and for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) up to two years postpartum.
Health Equity
The Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act
This bill would comprehensively address every dimension of the Black maternal health crisis in America by making critical investments in social determinants that influence health outcomes and confront issues of systemic racism in the medical system. It would also establish grant programs to increase the number of perinatal health workers – including lactation consultants and dietitians – who offer culturally congruent support.
Paid Family and Medical Leave
The Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act
This bill would provide comprehensive paid family and medical leave of up to 12 weeks to all workers in the United States. Categorically recognizing paid leave as a public health imperative, this bill has the potential to transform the lives of families. As research shows, paid leave supports breastfeeding initiation and duration in a number of ways. For example, a person is more than twice as likely to stop breastfeeding in the month the person returns to work compared to someone who has not yet returned to work.
WIC Food Package Updates – Making a Critical Program Even More Impactful
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is a critical program in providing healthy foods and nutrition services for more than 6.3 million pregnant and postpartum women, infants, and children across the country.
Building on the program’s success and strengths, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published a proposed rule to update the food packages to further reduce health disparities and ensure that all women and children have a healthy first 1,000 days. The proposed rule would permanently increase the Cash Value Benefit for fruits and vegetables, add seafood across food packages, increase whole grain options to better represent culturally-diversified recipes, include new substitution patterns and flexibility to improve participant access to WIC foods and support breastfeeding.
Why we’re excited
First, the proposed rules are more closely aligned with the latest research and science, such as this series in the American Journal of Public Health, so everyone is given the best, most up-to-date nutrition guidance.
In particular, we applaud USDA for increasing benefits for fruits and vegetables while decreasing juice in the proposed rule. This change better aligns with the recommendations in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) to consume whole fruits and vegetables and limit juice intake in young children. (Click here to learn more about serving juice to kids.)
We also commend the proposals to strengthen support for moms and babies across a wider range of breastfeeding options, including those that mostly, but not exclusively, breastfeed. These changes provide partially-breastfeeding people with food packages that align with their higher calorie needs and also adds flexibility to the amount of formula provided for partially-breastfed infants. These changes better support individual breastfeeding goals.
These additional flexibilities in the WIC food packages, along with the WIC breastfeeding peer counselor program, which connects moms with others from their community to provide education, encouragement and support, will help all moms with their infant feeding needs. It takes everyone to support breastfeeding, not just the mother. (To dive a little deeper, listen to this interview by former WIC breastfeeding peer counselor, Chrisonne Henderson.)
1,000 Days joins many of our partners in strongly supporting the proposed WIC food package changes. Nutrition in particular plays a foundational role in a child’s development. The proposed WIC food packages take a critical step in ensuring implementation of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans for families who need the extra support with healthy foods and nutrition education, which is critical to the health and well-being of parents and babies. (Check out these short videos about some of the DGA recommendations.)
What you can do
We invite you to join us in submitting supportive comments to USDA. The National WIC Association has a template and online submission form to make it quick and easy! Comments are due by February 21, 2023.
During pregnancy and when you’re breastfeeding, nutritious food choices will help fuel your
baby’s growth and keep you healthy.
Watch and learn 6 steps you can take during your 1,000-day window to nourish you and your little
one.
Taking a Prenatal Vitamin
Eating the Rainbow
Limiting Certain Foods
Managing your Weight
Focusing on Good Nutrition
Breastfeeding for the Benefits to You and Baby
Follow us on social for more!
Posted Date: May 2, 2022
Anticipated Period of Performance: June 20 – September 30 2022
Proposals Due: June 15, 2022
The Consultant will facilitate engagement with the USG Global Nutrition Community and coordinate with the 1,000 Days’ Initiative Director on government relations.
Official title: Modifiers of the effect of maternal multiple micronutrient supplementation on stillbirth, birth outcomes, and infant mortality: a meta-analysis of individual patient data from 17 randomised trials in low-income and middle-income countries
Published: November 2017
Publication: The Lancet Global Health
Authors: Emily R Smith, Anuraj H Shankar, Lee S-F Wu, Said Aboud, Seth Adu-Afarwuah, Hasmot Ali, Rina Agustina, Shams Arifeen, Per Ashorn, Zulfiqar A Bhutta, Parul Christian, Delanjathan Devakumar, Kathryn G Dewey, Henrik Friis, Exnevia Gomo, Piyush Gupta, Pernille Kæstel, Patrick Kolsteren, Hermann Lanou, Kenneth Maleta, Aissa Mamadoultaibou, Gernard Msamanga, David Osrin, Lars-Åke Persson, Usha Ramakrishnan, Juan A Rivera, Arjumand Rizvi, H P S Sachdev, Willy Urassa, Keith P West Jr, Noel Zagre, Lingxia Ze
Read the original paper here.
Summary
Conclusions